Deliver Your Children
"Deliver Your Children" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Cover in the Netherlands, where it charted
|
||||
Single by Wings | ||||
from the album London Town | ||||
A-side | "I've Had Enough" | |||
Released | 16 June 1978 | |||
Format | 7" | |||
Recorded | May 1977 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | Parlophone/EMI (UK) Capitol (US) |
|||
Writer(s) | Denny Laine Paul McCartney |
|||
Producer(s) | Paul McCartney | |||
Wings singles chronology | ||||
|
"Deliver Your Children" is a song written by Denny Laine and Paul McCartney that was first issued on Wings' 1978 album London Town. It was also released as the B-side of Wings' single "I've Had Enough." In the Netherlands. it received enough airplay to be ranked on the national charts along with its A-side, and joint single reached #13.[1] On some charts within the Netherlands "Deliver Your Children" was ranked alone on the single charts, and it reached #9 on the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40 chart.[2] Laine also released solo recordings of the song.[3]
Writing and recording
Laine wrote most of the song himself and McCartney helped him complete it.[4][5] It was originally written during the Venus and Mars sessions in 1975.[5][6] Laine's original title for the song was "Feel the Love," despite the fact that the song lyrics do not contain the phrase, but McCartney suggested the revised title.[7][8] It was recorded on the yacht Fair Carol in the Virgin Islands in May 1977.[6] Laine sings the lead vocal and both Laine and McCartney play acoustic guitar.[9] Laine also plays the Spanish guitar solos.[10] McCartney also plays bass guitar, and both he and Linda McCartney provide backing vocals.[5]
Lyrics and music
"Deliver Your Children" is an uptempo song.[5] Music professor Vincent Benitez and Beatles biographer Robert Rodriguez describe it as being "folksy."[7][9] It is one of two songs on London Town primarily written by Laine with children as its theme.[7] The verses describe a variety of unlucky experiences the singer has had, including getting caught in a rain storm, dealing with an unfaithful lover, and dealing with an unscrupulous repairman who can't fix his truck.[7][9] Both Benitez and McCartney biographer John Blaney describe the verses as "rambling."[5][9] The refrain contrasts by exhorting the listener to deliver the children to the good life and make things right for them.[7][9]
According to Benitez, the song sounds as if it is in the key of A minor but the guitars are actually played in the key of D minor with a capo on the seventh fret.[9] Actually, the verses are neither in a major or a minor key, but in a Dorian mode, which emphasizes their harsh imagery.[9] The first two verses, the guitar solo near the end and the outro are in D-Dorian, while the last verses are in G-Dorian.[9] The refrain is in C major, contrasting the verses and emphasizing its more hopeful lyrics.[9]
Reception
Rolling Stone Magazine critic Janet Maslin described "Deliver Your Children" as "wonderful" and one of the best songs on London Town.[11] Rodriquez regards it as the best of McCartney's and Laine's collaborations.[7] Beatle biographers Roy Carr and Tony Tyler described it as"minor key Nashville chunkachuck" displaying "superior craftmanship."[12] Music critic Joel McNally regards it as a "good" song, describing it as "an upbeat number that dares to use some acoustic guitars in an electronic age.[13] Author Giuseppe Rausa regards "Deliver Your Children" as one of the few memorable songs on London Town, describing it as a pleasant, quick, country music-like song.[14]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Luca Perasi, Paul McCartney: Recording Sessions (1969-2013), L.I.L.Y. Publishing, 2013, ISBN 978-88-909122-1-4, p.156
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
Script error: The function "top" does not exist.
Script error: The function "bottom" does not exist.